An equity score of 47/100 ranks Mercer Area Sd #350 of 649 districts in Pennsylvania (state average 49). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,777 per pupil, Mercer Area Sd ranks #563 of 672 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending (Pennsylvania districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,063
Total Enrollment
3
Schools
$15,777
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Mercer Area Sd operates 3 public schools serving 1,063 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Pennsylvania. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Mercer County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,777 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 672 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending. See how Pennsylvania compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 42.2% local, 48.2% state, and 9.6% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 47/100, ranked #350 of 649 in Pennsylvania against a state average of 49, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 3 schools offering Advanced Placement (5 AP courses district-wide), a 328.3:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 36.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 92.9% White, 1.5% African American, 0.8% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Mercer Area Ms, with a diversity index of 16.6/100.
Its largest campus is Mercer Area El Sch, enrolling 567 students (58% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Mercer Area Ms, at 136 students, a 4x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Mercer Area El Sch accounts for 53.3% of all Mercer Area Sd student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Mercer Area Sd a distant remainder — means Mercer Area Sd-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade band: elementary. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how the district allocates programs, capital, or staff. Because it contains a majority of the affected population, enrollment-weighted aggregates will sit closer to this entity's reported fields than to those of smaller peers; an unweighted entity count answers a different question.
Mercer Area Sd school enrollment varies 4.2× across entities
Mercer Area Sd school enrollment ranges from 136 students (lowest) to 567 students (highest), a spread of 431 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Mercer Area Sd reports 96.5% free-lunch eligibility
The reported share is above 87.5%, so economic need is widespread across the measured student population. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.
Mercer Area Sd student-counselor ratio is 328:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Variation between sub-units within Mercer Area Sd is typically wider than the Mercer Area Sd-aggregate figure suggests.
Mercer Area Sd chronic absenteeism rate is 36.5% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Mercer Area Sd has 3 schools, including 1 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 1,063 students.
How much does Mercer Area Sd spend per student?
Mercer Area Sd spends $15,777 per student. The district has an equity score of 47/100, ranking #350 in Pennsylvania.
What is the demographic composition of Mercer Area Sd?
Mercer Area Sd students are 92.9% White, 1.5% African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.7% Hispanic or Latino, averaged across 3 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Mercer Area Sd?
Mercer Area Sd has an equity score of 47/100, ranking #350 out of 649 districts in Pennsylvania.